BizFancy

One of the most important aspects of creating content sites is choosing the right keywords and phrases to target. You want to choose phrases that are actually searched for on the major search engines like Google, MSN and Yahoo, but you also want to choose phrases that aren’t insanely competitive. So, forget that #1 ranking for “quilting”, it brings traffic that is too broad anyway. Just what kind of quilting are they interested in? Do they want to learn about it? Do they want free patterns? Do they want to buy stuff related to quilting? Who knows. This is why we want to research and target what they call “long tail” phrases. Long tail phrases are simply multi word phrases, usually at least a keyword or two or more tacked onto the main phrase. So, if we’re looking for long tail keyword phrases for our subject of hand quilting, here is what comes up:

free hand stitch quilting patterns
quilting by hand
hand quilting thread
free hand quilting designs
quilting hand stitching
dot to dot hand quilting designs
hand quilting templates
hand quilting needles
free hand quilting patterns
hand quilting how to
hand quilting class az
hand quilting without a hoop
hand quilting techniques
designs hand quilting
hand quilting instructions
used hand quilting frame

As you can see, these are generally 3 to 5 words total each. Each of these phrases gets traffic, not substantial traffic like the simple phrase “quilting”, but the reason we target these phrases is that it’s relatively easy to rank for them since there are far fewer competitors. In some cases, you’ll find few if any competitors targeting some phrases that actually get traffic. These phrases are easy to rank for and mean free traffic for you! You’ll want to compile a nice list of as many long tail phrases for your niche as you can find. You will then use these phrases to optimize your website pages. In some cases, you’ll even want to create a special page to target certain phrases. Here are some handy tools to use for finding long tail phrases for your site (each has a free option or trial, but the paid versions are worth the money if you can afford it):

KeywordDiscovery

WordTracker

NicheBot

Don’t underestimate to importance of choosing a decent host for your website. If you put alot of time and work into your website, and your site is inaccessible to your visitors, then it’s all a waste. Here are two good choices for a budget host to start your empire.

In my experience, you don’t have to spend a fortune to get solid hosting for your website. I like the following hosts and packages:

ResellerZoom – You can start off with the Budget package that is $6.95 a month. Generally solid and decent support. I have had 20 sites hosted on a Budget plan for almost 3 years, and am still pretty satisfied overall. A good budget choice.

HostGator – HostGator has a good reputation. I wouldn’t hestitate to use their Baby plan which allows unlimited websites for $7.95 a month. If you’re only going to build one site, then go with the Hatchling plan for just $4.95 a month. I don’t have any personal experience with this host however, but have heard good things.

I’m going to start off this blog with the #1 way I make money online. That is, creating niche content websites. I have several websites that make me thousands of dollars each year. I won’t share my niches, but I’ll tell you how to find your own, create your content and even promote the site. This will be a multi post subject.

Keep in mind that I don’t bother with making junk websites, loaded with scraped content or PLR articles or other people’s content. I’m talking about making a real content website, with 100% or close to 100% unique content. A site that will take longer to get off the ground and make money, but will make money for years and years. If you don’t plan on putting some work and time into your website, then don’t even bother.

Here we go with part 1…

The first thing you need to do is find a niche. This is easy for me… I simply go with what I know and love. Do you enjoy quilting? How about crafts? Or maybe you are a connoisseur of cigars or wine or Maserati’s or a local college team or whales or the old West or whatever. Think about what you like, what you enjoy, what is your passion? First and foremost, pick what interests YOU. This is very important. If you pick a topic that interests you, then the content and care you put into the site because of your passion for it will come through to your visitors, and that will pay off in the long run. It doesn’t matter how niche it is, how specialized a topic, trust me, if you have a passion for it, chances are that there are other people out there in the vast Internets that are also interested in it.